This is not legal advice. As someone who lives in a state that is highly regulated, I cannot emphasize enough the need for you to advocate for yourself and make a point to know your state laws. While the school district will most likely provide you with a printed copy of the laws and regulations for home schooling, a local home schooling group can be a valuable asset when it comes to navigating your way through the system.
There are two options under which parents are allowed to homeschool legally. The first is to home school your child under the homeschool statute. The second is considered a “religious exemption” and has slightly different requirements.
In order to home school in Ohio parents must provide an annual notice of intent to the appropriate superintendent. The notice must include the following:
1. The school year for which the notification is made.
2. Name and address of parents as well as the full name and birth date of the child.
3. Name and address of person teaching the child if it’s someone other than the child’s parents.
4. Assurance that the home school will include the required subjects (listed below) unless any of the required subjects are in conflict with the religious beliefs of the parents.
5. An outline of the intended curriculum and a list of the textbooks and other teaching materials.
6. Assurance of school hours and that the teacher is qualified. (See below).
The law states that the superintendent, upon receipt of the letter of intent (with all of the information outlined above) has 14 days to either approve the home school program, or inform parents that the program will not meet the minimum educational standards. If the program is determined to be insufficient, parents have 14 days to either supplement the information or meet with the superintendent.
Compulsory Age Attendance: Children between the ages of 6 and 18 years are required to attend school.
Required Days of Instruction: Ohio law does not specify a number of days but rather 900 hours of instruction per school year. (If you were to use a 180 day school year, this would equal roughly 6 hours per day of instruction.)
Required Subjects: Geography, language arts, history of the United States as well as Ohio, government, math, health, physical education, fine arts, first aid and science.
Teacher Qualifications: The “home teacher” must have a high school diploma or its equivalent. A parent without a high school diploma can teach their child under the direction of someone with a bachelor’s degree until the child’s standardized test scores demonstrate reasonable proficiency.
Standardized Test: Students must receive a composite score of at least 25% on a nationally normed standardized test. Parents may also submit a written narrative indicating that the child has done sufficiently well. If a narrative is submitted, it must be done by either a certified teacher or “someone mutually agreed upon between the parents and the superintendent.” In other words, a parent may write their child’s evaluation as long as the superintendent agrees to it.
There also exists a second option for parents who disagree with government controlled education for religious reasons. Because this may look more like a school as groups of parents form together to teach subjects or hire a teacher, I am going to omit the option in this blog.
Helpful Resources:
Related Articles
Other state laws
Homeschooling for the Long Haul
Preparing the Homeschool Portfolio
Objectively Evaluating My Perfect and Precious Darlings